Heading into this season, only three players in the history of the NHL have recorded 100 or more assists in a single season.
Wayne Gretzky recorded 100 assists in a season 11 times. Mario Lemieux accomplished the feat once back in 1988-89. Defenseman Bobby Orr in 1970‑71 put up 102 assists.
The 2023-24 season saw two players hit the 100-assist mark – Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov, bringing the total to five players in NHL history to record 100 assists or more.
Kucherov hit the 100 assist mark in the final game of his season. McDavid recorded his 100 assist in the Oilers 80th game of the season.
| Rk | Name | Age | Season | GP | A | P | ESA | PPA | SHA | A/GP |
| 1 | Wayne Gretzky | 24 | 1985‑86 | 80 | 163 | 215 | 105 | 43 | 15 | 2.038 |
| 2 | Wayne Gretzky | 23 | 1984‑85 | 80 | 135 | 208 | 92 | 36 | 7 | 1.688 |
| 3 | Wayne Gretzky | 21 | 1982‑83 | 80 | 125 | 196 | 85 | 36 | 4 | 1.563 |
| 4 | Wayne Gretzky | 29 | 1990‑91 | 78 | 122 | 163 | 70 | 51 | 1 | 1.564 |
| 5 | Wayne Gretzky | 25 | 1986‑87 | 79 | 121 | 183 | 82 | 33 | 6 | 1.532 |
| 6 | Wayne Gretzky | 20 | 1981‑82 | 80 | 120 | 212 | 79 | 39 | 2 | 1.5 |
| 7 | Wayne Gretzky | 22 | 1983‑84 | 74 | 118 | 205 | 80 | 27 | 11 | 1.595 |
| 8 | Mario Lemieux | 23 | 1988‑89 | 76 | 114 | 199 | 61 | 48 | 5 | 1.5 |
| 9 | Wayne Gretzky | 27 | 1988‑89 | 78 | 114 | 168 | 62 | 42 | 10 | 1.462 |
| 10 | Wayne Gretzky | 26 | 1987‑88 | 64 | 109 | 149 | 65 | 40 | 4 | 1.703 |
| 11 | Wayne Gretzky | 19 | 1980‑81 | 80 | 109 | 164 | 68 | 38 | 3 | 1.363 |
| 12 | Wayne Gretzky | 28 | 1989‑90 | 73 | 102 | 142 | 70 | 30 | 2 | 1.397 |
| 13 | Bobby Orr | 22 | 1970‑71 | 78 | 102 | 139 | 48 | 44 | 10 | 1.308 |
| 14 | Connor McDavid | 26 | 2023‑24 | 76 | 100 | 132 | 63 | 37 | 0 | 1.316 |
| 15 | Nikita Kucherov | 30 | 2023‑24 | 81 | 100 | 144 | 60 | 40 | 0 | 1.235 |
** Stats taken from QuantHockey
Other impressive numbers when looking at the 100+ assist seasons, is in Wayne Gretzky’s record-setting 215-point season in 1985-86.
105 of his 163 assists were at even-strength. If you looked at the even-strength point totals in a single season for every NHL player, just Wayne Gretzky’s assists total for that year would have him seventh. It’s not a surprise that Gretzky holds the top seven even-strength point totals in a single season.